With all but Chelsea looking up at them, some at the modest club might be forgiven for feeling pleased with themselves, especially given the doom peddled over the summer when a host of leading lights quit for the deeper pockets of bigger clubs. But no hint of arrogance can be detected at their St Mary's stadium tucked away near the river Itchen. In fact, the players this week demanded manager Ronald Koeman cancel a scheduled rest day so they could attend extra training.
"We planned Wednesday off after the Tuesday (victory over Arsenal) and Jose Fonte said 'Boss, we like to come to training tomorrow'," Koeman told reporters.
"I said 'but you have the day off, I planned things with my wife'," he smiled. "But we changed it. And I have never had that happen before. That means a lot to me, and that means a lot about the ambition of the players.
"We spoke to each other and said 'Ok, if you win against Queens Park Rangers then you get that day off for next week', and we hope to win on Saturday."
One game at a time. It is a mantra tripped out by players and managers week in, week out. But Southampton are determined to keep it this way, as expectation — and excitement — grows at the Hampshire club. Koeman, the former Dutch international and Barcelona bulwark, is becoming adept at playing down expectations.
"It isn't realistic," he stonewalled, when asked about the possibility of a Champions League place. "You can't say anything about that because we played only five games in the Premier League and the season is 38 games, and we know it is a long season, it is a tough season. "We know we made a very good start, with all the changes we made, and of course after the win of last Tuesday the expectation of the fans and the press is much higher... but it will get more difficult, and we have to realise that. And to keep going with what we did today.
"If we keep working hard... the players are showing great ambition."
Another test of their mettle comes this weekend. "We know this Saturday QPR will not be an easy one," Koeman said.
"Not everything in football you can control, but now in this moment the belief is high in the team.
"Everybody is happy, of course. But we know it is football, change can come in fast - any result. But our feeling is strong, and we like to show that game by game." With three wins and a draw from their first five matches, Southampton have 10 points, three fewer than Chelsea. QPR, managed by Harry Redknapp who steered Southampton to relegation in 2005, sit in 18th spot with four points.
(Reporting by Ossian Shine; editing by Robert Woodward)
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